The smuggling of cocaine and heroin from Africa and West Asia into India through air routes is on the rise, according to a report by the country’s anti-smuggling agency Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
“These seizures indicate a growing trend of cocaine smuggling via air passenger routes, with cases rising from 21 in 2022-23 to 47 in 2023-24, the majority of which were seized at airports,” the report said. During the raids, the agency seized cocaine worth ₹975 crore in 2024.
“There has been a notable rise in drug trafficking via couriers and parcels. The smuggling of cocaine and heroin through air cargo and human carriers, primarily from Africa and the Middle East, is increasing, particularly targeting major Indian cities. Most heroin seizures made by the DRI in the past year involved trafficking via air routes from African countries and land routes through India’s porous northeastern borders,” the report said.
The agency said drug trafficking via air routes had also become a potent method for smugglers because of the speed and growing volume of international air traffic. Drugs are often concealed in luggage, courier packages, or ingested by carriers (known as mules).
The report said smuggling of methamphetamine had also gone up, especially in northeastern states like Assam and Mizoram. In recent years, India has witnessed a marked increase in the availability and use of various narcotic substances, it said.
In 2023-24, the DRI registered 109 cases involving 8,224kg of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including 107kg of cocaine (₹975 crore), 49kg of heroin (₹365 crore), 236kg of mephedrone (₹357 crore) and 136kg of methamphetamine (₹275 crore), the report said. Apart from the India-Myanmar border, the smuggling syndicates based in southeast Asia and West Asia carry out major operations through sea routes, the report said.
“Free trade warehousing zones in the Middle East are emerging as a major transit point from where cigarette-concealed consignments are shipped to India. Though illicit cigarettes are reportedly manufactured in certain southeast Asian countries, it appears that the consignments are initially shipped to Dubai from southeast Asia and then re-routed to India,” the report said.